Spitting Image’s “Iron Lady” Steve Nallon to play his first pantomime dame at Buxton Opera House

For the first time in his long career, he will appear as a pantomime dame in Buxton Opera House’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Steve said: “I’ll feel more at home playing a pantomime dame than a proper lady!”

His decision to take on this traditional role stems from an interest in female impersonators such as Arthur Lucan (who performed as his alter ego, Old Mother Riley, from the 1930s to the 1950s). Steve recently earned rave reviews playing Roy Barraclough in a UK tour of Cissie and Ada, a play about the female double act portrayed on TV by Barraclough and Les Dawson.

Steve has never been afraid of a challenge. At the age of 16 he developed a successful comedy act, which he toured round working men’s clubs in Yorkshire and the north.

He then studied English and Drama at the University of Birmingham and went on to perform in regional repertory theatres.

His life changed in 1984 when he became a founder member of the Spitting Image team. He said: “It was great fun and often quite exhilarating to be a part of this ground-breaking satirical series and it led to the making of many life-long friends and colleagues.”

For radio he has written and performed in his own show, The Nallon Tapes.

Jack and the Beanstalk is at Buxton Opera House from December 11 to January 4.